


Carnevale a Venezia

by Starline148



Series: Carnevale a Venezia [1]
Category: Inazuma Eleven, Inazuma Eleven GO
Genre: Accidents, Also will appear Someoka, Attempted Murder, Carnival, Carnival Party, Costumes, Danger, Dark, FDKD, FudouxKidou, GenSaku, GendaxSakuma, HikaMasa, HikaruxKariya, HikaruxMasaki, Holidays, Intrigue, Investigation, Italy, KDFD, KariyaxHikaru, Kidnapping, KidouxFudou, M/M, MasaHika, MasakixHikaru, Masks, Mist, Murder, Mystery, Party, Poisoning, Problems, Rain, Rome - Freeform, SakuGen, SakumaxGenda, Snow, There are more characters but these are the main ones, Venice, Winter
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-05
Updated: 2020-05-16
Packaged: 2021-02-28 22:14:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 16,734
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23494414
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Starline148/pseuds/Starline148
Summary: Kidou Yuuto gets a letter with an Invitation for a Carnival Party in Venice, at the Shadow Mountain Palace.But he isn't the only one, a few other people get the same letter and they decide to go to Venice on holidays. They're a mixed group of young people: Kidou, Fudou, Endou, Sakuma, Genda, Afuro, Demonio and Haruna with two teenagers, Hikaru and Kariya.Kidou and Fudou suspect about the host and the reason of the invitations, their suspicions grow up when the events trigger with a murder at the Palace.
Relationships: Fudou Akio/Kidou Yuuto, Genda Koujirou/Sakuma Jirou, Kageyama Hikaru/Kariya Masaki
Series: Carnevale a Venezia [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1690423
Comments: 2
Kudos: 21





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This story is different from my other works, more serious and dark. I started thinking about this idea years ago but it's now that I start to write it! I hope you'll like it and stay with me in this journey!
> 
> I love Venice.

" _ My warmest regards, Mr. Kidou. _

_ I have the honor to let you know that you have been invited to the Shadow Mountain Palace Carnival Party at Venice. _ _   
_ _   
_ _ I will contact you soon. _ _   
_ _   
_ _ Sincerely, the Benefactor _ .”

Kidou Yuuto furrowed his eyebrows after reading that short message written in beautiful old calligraphy on slightly pearly paper. His eyes moved over the paper and narrowed at the words “Shadow Mountain Palace”. 

Could it be? He didn’t even try to disguise the name. A single word came from his lips with a strange sense of danger.

Suddenly the cell phone in his pocket began to vibrate and for a second he had the absurd thought that maybe it was that person. But seeing the contact photo relaxed the expression on his face that had tightened without realizing it, sighed in relief and brought the device to his ear.

“We’ll go, won’t we?”

Fudou Akio's unmistakable voice spoke from the other end of the line: irritating, mocking and presumptuous. Kidou wasn't even surprised, of course Fudou had to get an invitation too, no doubt about that. And for Fudou it was easy to guess everything too.

“I wouldn’t miss it.”

A moment of silence grew in the air, then.

“Be careful, Kidou-kun, something smells like your socks.”

A complicity smile appeared on the young man's lips while Kidou laughed.   
“We surely will find out what was up. What could go wrong?”

  
  


If they could only imagine how wrong things were going to go.


	2. Chapter 01

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The trip beguins. The group invited to the Carnival Party at Venice waits in the aeroport to fly to Rome. Calm before the storm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! First chapter is here. This is going to be a weekly story, unless for some reasson I submit more than one chapter in same week or I couldn't for some unexpected reasson. 
> 
> The first chapters are relaxing ones as introduction. But I hope you'll like them anyways!

Kidou Yuuto looked up from the papers he was checking once more to look at his companions. As he did so he met the turquoise eyes of Fudou Akio sitting next to him, his eyes riveted on him like two night proctors, something in the boy's expression must made him laugh because a mocking smile adorned his lips as usual, Kidou raised an eyebrow and the boy blinked slowly without taking his eyes off and clapped him on the shoulder. 

“Calm down, Kidou-kun. Everything will be fine.”

Kidou looked down at his papers again with a sigh of uncertainty and Fudou with a squawk took them off.

“Come on, Kidou. Socialize with all of us.”

"Says who is ignoring everyone" Kidou smiled indicating that he was giving up and looked at his companions.

At those times Sakuma Jirou was talking animatedly with Afuro Terumi, the blond young man was holding a guide of Italy in his hands and was pointing something with considerable enthusiasm. Sakuma followed Afuro's movement through the guide with his amber eye.

Otonashi Haruna and Endou Mamoru danced happily around the suitcases that were to be checked for the trip ahead. They both shouted the word "Italy" at the same time.

Genda Koujirou played with the two youngest, Kageyama Hikaru and Masaki Kariya. Genda put his arms perpendicular to his body with forearms at a right angle, and told them to hold on, and when they did, he began to turn like a mill until they were dropped between amused laughs and the reproachful looks of the people who passed by their side.

“Do you bring the passport?” Kidou suddenly asked with a spasm looking that his was in the sling bag pocket where it should be.

Fudou growled.

“When you picked us up, you forced us to show it to you so we can get in the car. We all carry our passports.”

Kidou put his hand to his neck uneasily and Fudou with a snort dropped to him resting his back on his side.

“You are too responsible, Kidou-kun. Relax a little.”

Kidou's red eyes squinted up at him through his thick green glasses.

“It's too …”

“Yes, yes... I know, Kidou, I know.”

Fudou closed his eyes for a moment, despite his relaxed and carefree facade he had a horrible feeling and knew, from the rigid behavior and sweat that sometimes ran down his neck, that Kidou also had it.

He turned to the boy with the long cinnamon coloured hair, whose upper half was made of dreadlocks gathered in a ponytail, leaving the rest of the hair to fall on his shoulders and back. He brought his lips close to his ear and whispered something that made the other boy smile.

“Oh!”

Kariya's moan made everyone stop what they were doing and look at him, the teenager of about sixteen was sitting on his ass on the ground, he had fallen because of Genda swirling arms. Noticing all eyes shifting to him, he blushed and tried to hide behind the burly blue-eyed boy.

As if that was a signal, the flight they were to take opened the check-in, which was not unnoticed by Haruna's lively eyes.

The group took their bags and headed to the hold baggage check-in area. They all carried large suitcases since they were going to be a little more than two weeks away, the smallest suitcase was Endou's and the largest was Afuro's, although Kidou's had little to envy him.

They arrived when there was hardly any queue so they went through the ropes that marked the way, talking among themselves with excitement. When his turn came Kidou approached with Haruna. Being a large group they had decided that the young man would be the spokesperson. 

"Good evening, gentleman and young lady" a woman dressed in her company uniform greeted cordially.

"Good evening, we are a group of nine who fly to Rome" he politely reported, offering her the group's flight tickets.

The woman took the papers and reviewed them.

“Pass one by one with the luggage you want to check in and your passport.”

Kidou was the first to leave his suitcase that was almost over the maximum weight allowed and gave his document to that woman.

She looked at the data to verify that everything was correct, nodded and stuck a sticker with the destination printed on Kidou's suitcase.

"Wait here to give you the boarding passes" she asked, reaching out to pick up Haruna's passport, which had already left her suitcase on the treadmill.

They were doing without major problem. Afuro's suitcase exceeded the maximum but he intelligently smiled at the woman and asked her softly while putting his palms together in a begging expression..

“Can't you turn a blind eye, please? My friend's suitcase weighed very little and can compensate a couple of extra kilos, but now we can not pass anything because it already entered.”

The woman looked around and sighed.

“Okay, but make sure you don't carry extra weight on the way back.”

Afuro smiled kindly and the woman felt that her day was going to improve after seeing that beautiful face.

When everyone checked in, Kidou collected the boarding passes and said goodbye.

"Hmm," he murmured, looking at the papers.

Seven pairs of eyes and a single eye were looking at him.

“We are all near”

“Where do we sit?” Endou asked, approaching the boy with emotion.

“I hope I have window!” Haruna exclaimed excitedly, jumping up and down.

Hikaru screamed behind her teacher and Kariya blushed, he was very embarrassed to admit it but he would also love to have window.

"It would be useless" Fudou murmured, hanging on Kidou's shoulder to look at the papers. “Being such a long trip, they lower the windows so that the passengers can sleep.”

"I don't think they will this time" Kidou observed, turning to him. “This time we don't fly at night.”

“You two know a lot about flights to Italy, right?” Sakuma laughed crossing his arms and looking amused, the ears of the two boys reddened for no apparent reason.

"We have made the trip before" Kidou replied, dismissing it, after all, he had been studying in Rome and playing for the Italian National Team for several years, during which Fudou had come to visit him several times.

“What is Italy like?” Hikaru asked with a twinkle in his delight.

"Pretty" Fudou smiled, ruffling the teenager's hair. “Although we will not be able to see much of Italy, only Rome and Venice.”

“Weren't we also going to pass through Florence?” Genda asked looking at Kidou.

“Yes, in the end we got an extra day for Florence.”

“Great” amazed Fudou.

Afuro approached and looked at the boarding passes with some disappointment in his eyes.

“Weren't we going to fly first class?”

“Precisely, that's where the day in Florence comes from. Instead of asking for first-class seats, I preferred to save the money so we could visit a little more of Italy.”

Kariya swayed in his place, somewhat uncomfortable and not knowing how to participate in the conversation. Sakuma saw him and turned to him.

“Are you excited to fly, Masaki?”

Kariya's orange eyes widened and his face turned red.

“Only babies are excited about these things!”

Four of the seven adults were offended by that answer, since they were very excited to fly.

Kidou kept the cards in his bag, he preferred to keep them until the moment of boarding.

The group took refuge in one of the restaurants inside the airport after passing through the International Police posts. Sitting around a table with drinks where Afuro and Sakuma displayed guides and discussed the plans with each other. Kidou helped organize the trip with reservations and payments, but the two of them took the city tours.

“We will land in Rome around six o'clock p.m. in the local time, from there we will go to the hotel …”

“Will Someoka come to pick us up?” Endou interrupted the blond boy.

"I spoke to Someoka and he said that he will join us for dinner," replied Fudou, who was with his elbow resting on the table and his head resting lazily in the palm of his hand.

Endou shouted with excitement and Afuro pushed him away to be able to continue.

“As we will be tired from the trip due to the time change Sakuma and I have thought that it is better that we go directly to rest after dinner.”

Everyone nodded at those words.

"We will be two days in Rome" Sakuma continued. It is not much but we have marked some interesting tours. Demonio has offered to guide us, he has also been invited to the party.”

Sakuma's eye went to Kidou, Fudou, and Endou.

“Will he come with us to Venice?” Endou asked excitedly.

“Yes I think so.”

"Then we will move to Florence," Afuro interrupted. “We can only stay for one day, but it will give time to see the most emblematic places.”

“And eat ice cream.”

"Yes, Fudou, for that too" Sakuma growled.

"Florence's ice cream is the best," the brunette boy excused himself.

“From Florence we will go to Venice just in time for the start of Carnival.”

A murmur of excitement ran through the group, even Kariya raised his head from the mobile where he played to explode Aliens.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you like my work don't be shy and give some support, it's always nice. Thank you for reading!


	3. Chapter 02

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This week I'm submitting two chapters. Just because they cover the flight and I prefer to put them together and move fordward in the next with some action :D

There was a fuss on the plane as all the passengers searched for their seats and passed through the narrow aisles moving between the different rows. That group was no exception although they were truly all sitting together, occupying an entire row of seats and one seat in front.   
  
Hikaru was sitting on the far left, he had window and made small bounces of happiness at the thought that he could look at everything from there, Genda was sitting next to him, looking at his boarding pass with a thoughtful face. 

In the center seats of the plane between the two aisles sat Endou, Haruna, Kariya and Sakuma. Across the other were Kidou and Afuro. In front of Kidou was Fudou.    
  
For some reason the two strategists didn't seem too happy.

"Hey, change seats with me, Afuro," said Fudou, who was on his knees on the airplane seat and looking back with furrowed eyebrows.

"No."

The blond boy refused with an exceptional smile and Fudou complained and started rocking back and forth.

"Behave like a person and not like an ape, will you?" Kidou chided, looking disappointed at Afuro.

"Then tell him to change seats!"

Kidou blushed a little.

"Who cares?"

Although it was clear to everyone that he cared and preferred that Afuro change seats with him. The blond smiled even more and looked down at a magazine he was reading, turning the page as if nothing had happened. He really was going to accept the change of seats because otherwise they were going to give him a very long trip, but before he wanted to make them rage a little. Only a little, as sweet revenge for all the times he was beaten in football matches.   
  
Across the aisle Genda gestured to Kariya.

"Masaki, come, I think it's better that you sit here with Hikaru."

Hikaru looked away from the window and peeked out from behind Genda.

"Yes! Thanks, Genda!"

Hikaru hugged him as Kariya came grumbling and shuffling. He glanced at Hikaru and looked down flushed.

"Do you do it for me or to be next to Sakuma?" he asked quietly to the bulky boy with the tousled brown hair.

He opened his blue eyes in surprise and laughed, making the others look at him.

"It's win-win for both of us, don't you think?"

Genda winked at him and ruffled his hair to leave to take the seat Kariya left. 

The teenager sat next to Hikaru trying to avoid looking excited.

"Look, Masaki, we have a window!"

Hikaru grabbed his arm and pulled him to look out the window as there weren’t anything better than that.

"Change my seat, cherub" Fudou growled again, reaching out and annoying Afuro.

He raised his red eyes and laughed.

"Calling me like that won't make you earn many points."

"Kidou-kun tell him something."

Kidou with his arms crossed had an annoyed expression. He grabbed Fudou's arm and went to say something to him, but a soft voice stopped him from doing so.

"Sorry …"

The three young men looked towards a girl about their age who was standing next to Fudou. She was a pretty girl, with light hair tied back in a ponytail and beautiful green eyes that looked somewhat shyly at the brown-haired man and then at the seat by the wall. Kidou's hand tightened on Fudou's arm.

"That's my seat."

Fudou felt his ears turn slightly red, he looked askance at Kidou and with a grin on his face he got up releasing his grip. His smile seemed commercial but in the depths of his eyes a slight glint of mischief flashed. Kidou was going to regret not having helped him change seats.

"Go ahead, sorry if I bothered you."

Kidou raised an eyebrow and pursed his lips even more. Afuro looked incredulously at one and the other strategist, met Sakuma's amused eye and both exchanged a significant look of exasperation.

Instead of passing, she turned to a cabin suitcase and Fudou followed her eyes.

"Wait, I'll help you with it."   
"Thank you very much, you are very kind."   
Kidou had a spasm in his eyebrow and watched as Fudou took the suitcase and stretched to put it in the compartments above their heads. Afuro from behind his magazine also looked at them.

"My name is Fudou Akio," the boy replied, introducing himself in a soft voice that Kidou was very upset about.

"Oh! I knew it! You are a famous football player, right?"

"I won't say famous." Fudou blushed and scratched his head.

Kidou snorted in his seat, but instead of bothering, she smiled at him too.

"You are Kidou Yuuto right? and ... Afuro Terumi?"

Kidou glared at her but Afuro smiled with that glow of his and she noticed how peace flooded her soul, that young man was extraordinarily beautiful and his smile was like the singing of a choir of angels.

"That's right, we have a couple more friends out there" answered the blond boy, pointing to Sakuma and Genda who were watching the scene with amusement and who greeted politely. Haruna and Endou were talking excitedly among themselves without realizing what was happening.

"This is amazing, I also like football a lot …" suddenly she blushed and spasmed "Sorry! I haven't introduced myself." She looked down and shifted her shoulders a little. "My name is Alice Berardi."   
Kidou looked up at the girl with an inquiring expression. He knew that name.

"I've heard of you" Sakuma intervened "Don't you play in an Italian team?"

She blushed even more and nodded.

"Yes!"

Fudou kept an eye on Kidou, amused. 

"It is a pleasure to be able to share the flight with a football partner."

Kidou gritted his teeth and the other three boys laughed silently.

"Didn't you want to change seats with Afuro?" he asked, falling right into it, just as Fudou planned.

"I changed my mind, Kidou-kun."

Fudou shamelessly winked at him and sat next to Alice making Kidou's blood boil.

Afuro hid behind his magazine and Sakuma turned back to Genda, the brown-haired man smiled at him and whispered.

"Poor Kidou, has fallen into Fudou's machinations."

Sakuma laughed, looked at his partner with his eye and shrugged.

"It will be an interesting trip, I hope they don't bother that poor girl too much."

  
They all interrupted their conversations when the announcement that the plane was about to take off came from the air vehicle's numerous speakers.

The flight attendants made the pertinent demonstrations of how to act in the various types of emergencies and left just in time.

The plane began to move down the runway, picking up speed with a somewhat disturbing rattle.

Hikaru let out a cry of excitement looking out the window, though he turned in surprise when he noticed Kariya's sweaty hand clutching his.

The teenager’s face was red, his gaze fixed on his knees, and his pulse was wild. The other boy smiled and tenderly took his hand, feeling a tickle in his stomach that although it could be due to the excitement of the flight, hadn’t appeared until he touched Kariya.

“Everything will be fine, Masaki.”

Kariya's eyes shifted momentarily to Hikaru and he felt as if a slab fell on his at the same time that the plane was leaving solid ground.

“Oh!”

Kariya hugged Hikaru in his seat and he sighed with slight dizziness due to takeoff.

“All right, everything is fine, Masaki.”

Hikaru's loving hand patted him on the head.

In the central hall Haruna took Endou and Genda's hands and forced them to raise their arms as if they were on a roller coaster, Genda of course dragged Sakuma and the four young men screeched with laughter.

Across the aisle Kidou and Afuro showed no sign of taking off except for a brief glance from the blonde through the window and a tight expression on Kidou's face.

“I am so sorry!” the melodious voice of the young woman in front apologized. “I'm sorry I suddenly clung to you, Fudou; I am very afraid of takeoffs.”

Fudou patted the girl and smiled looking at the hole between the two seats.

“Don’t worry, Berardi.”

“Call me Alice, please!”

“Huh ... okay, Alice, don’t worry. If you are afraid again you can tell me.”

Kidou furrowed his eyebrows so much that Afuro marveled that they didn’t become a beard. The strategist sank into his seat grumpy, full aware that Fudou was doing that to annoy him, but worst of all, he couldn't help but be annoyed. He kicked Fudou's seat with a groan of frustration.

Fudou peered over the seat and looked at Kidou with satisfaction in his turquoise eyes.

“If you're afraid I can also take your hand, Kidou-kun.”

The latter made a very obscene gesture to him and Fudou sat down again laughing.

"So, do you want me to change seats with Fudou's or not?" Afuro asked with a mocking smile on his lips.   


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading.
> 
> Just in case you didn't notice Alice is from Orion Italian's Team (which name I dislike a lot because Guardians of Queen really? what happened to Knights of Queen?). I follow OG canon so she didn't played against Inazuma Japan or even meet them, but she can exist.


	4. Chapter 03

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The second chapter this week and the last about the flight. They finally land and with next one it starts the action to move a little, not so much though. There're a few more "relaxed" chapters while they visit Rome and Florence.

They had half the route done and the young people from Inazuma spent hours on the plane immersed in different chores. Actually everyone except one of them was making the flight fast.

Hikaru and Kariya decided to do Harry Potter marathon since the movies were on the tablets of the seats, at that time they were going for the third movie and Hikaru was still jumping with excitement in his seat despite having seen the saga numerous times. Kariya had put his arm around his shoulders like he didn’t care and Hikaru was leaning on him. Occasionally Kariya yawned.

Endou had fallen asleep and was snoring peacefully dreaming of playing soccer with his Italian friends, he was so eager to see his friends from Orpheus and Demonio!

Haruna, Genda and Sakuma talked animatedly about various topics, such as the expectations they had about the trip and anecdotes from their works with which they laughed out loud. Since the girl loved to talk, they had no problem with the end of the conversation.

Fudou, to his surprise, enjoyed talking to his seatmate. At first he had only spoken to her to annoy Kidou for not wanting to help him with the change of seats; but it turned out that the girl was nice once her initial embarrassment was over and at that time they were exchanging opinions on various topics related to football. Fudou didn't mind occasionally socializing with a person he would never see again, it was one of those intriguing things in life.

Afuro read a pink novel while listening to music through headphones connected to his mobile.

Kidou was pretending to read but he was staring at the same point on the sheet for half an hour. Occasionally he would notice Afuro's glancing gaze and catch a glimpse of his smirk. He really wanted the flight to end.

“Is it the first time you travel to Italy?” Alice asked in her seat as she took a sip of a glass of coffee just served by a flight attendant. She was Italian but had traveled to Japan to visit relatives.

“No, I've already been with Kidou several times.”

“Oh?”

“Kidou was studying there for a few years, he also played for the National Team for a while.”

“Yes, it's true, I know people who have been Kidou's teammates. So, did you go to visit him?”

Fudou blushed and nodded.

“While he was in Italy, we made several trips to visit the country together.”

“Oh, I didn't know you were a couple.”

Behind them Kidou, who did not lose any detail of the conversation, choked on the tea that had been served to him and began to cough violently.

Afuro, who had not heard anything due to his headphones, sighed heavily in resignation when he saw his friend in that situation and patted him on the back. 

"We are not a couple," Fudou replied with a grunt, his colors had risen noticeably, even more knowing that Kidou was listening.

The girl looked at his flushed cheeks and blinked in disbelief.

“Really? From the look you did, I thought you were dating.” She touched her chin a little, then laughed. “My fault.”

"It's not funny." Fudou sank into his seat while clearly hearing Kidou fighting for his life, he turned annoyed, peeking out of the seat. “Do you want to stop fucking coughing!?”

Kidou growled something between coughs, his face was red although that was quite possibly because he was almost running out of air.

Sakuma, Genda and Haruna watched them from their seats. Sakuma worried made a move to get up to help Kidou although he recovered before he did. 

“Are you okay, Kidou?”

“What happened to you, brother?”

They had not heard the conversation between Fudou and the girl. Only Kidou had.

"I'm fine," he replied to everyone visibly humiliated by that.

Fudou snorted, although in a moment that Kidou denied the attentions of his other friends and did not see him, he gave him a soft expression of relief, how silly he could be. He turned back to Alice who had peeked out as well and found her staring at him with an amused expression that made his ears flush even more.   
“You are not a couple, huh?” she smiled.

Fudou went to protest but the girl tapped Kidou on the shoulder to get his attention.

“Hey, Kidou, can we change seats?”

The girl's green eyes glittered, Kidou remained silent for a while watching her.

"I think Fudou likes your company, I don't want to be the one to deprive him of you" he replied resentfully.

Alice laughed out loud and leaned down to whisper to him.

“But he likes your company more, or am I wrong?”

Kidou's ears flushed and Fudou, who hadn't heard her, growled from his seat and sat up looking back. 

“Don't try to be interesting, Kidou.”

In the end Kidou gave up to the pressure of her gaze, although in truth he had been wishing from the beginning to be able to change the seats.

“Okay, Fudou is hard to bear after a while.”

The brunette protested from his seat.

The girl took Kidou's place, Afuro looked at her curiously.

“Why did you suddenly change seats?”

She smiled and looked ahead, came over to tell him in a low voice.

“I did not know they wanted to be together, if I had known I would have changed positions before.”

"How kind you are," Afuro smiled, crossing his legs in the narrow space between the seats.

“You expect a very long trip, right?”

Afuro observed the heads of the strategists who were shaking at the time, Fudou tried to put his legs on Kidou who was quite reluctant because he was still upset with Fudou for his behavior. His sigh was a sufficient response.

The rest of the journey passed without great setbacks until practically the end.

Kidou and Fudou after fighting for almost an hour for a comfortable position reached an agreement, Kidou was left with his legs on Fudou's lap while they watched part of the Lord of the Rings trilogy on Kidou's tablet.

Alice ended up sharing seat with Haruna where Afuro and Kidou initially sat. The girls spent the rest of the flight talking and ended up exchanging phone numbers promising to write each other.

As Haruna left her original seat, Genda took the seat next to Endou, Sakuma the seat of Genda and Afuro that of Sakuma. Afuro and Sakuma talked about the football teams they coached with great pride, until Genda fell asleep on the white haired man's shoulder. That, like a sleep spell, ended up affecting them too and Sakuma fell asleep leaning on Genda's head. Afuro watched them for a few moments, the two young men smiled in dreams with their features relaxed when feeling the heat of the other, Afuro sighed with understanding and leaned back in his seat, enjoying of resting for a short time as well.

After barely an hour's rest, Endou woke up and woke the others with him. Since then, Endou and Genda discussed their goalkeeping positions and recalled some of their matches and their best saves. Afuro and Sakuma instead decided to once again review their travel plan and talk about the cities they were going to visit.

Hikaru and Kariya made remarkable progress in the film saga they were watching, although the sleep finally took hold of Hikaru and fell on Kariya's chest. They had both been moving while watching the movies until Kariya sat with his back against the wall of the plane, and Hikaru on his body. The green-haired boy's arms hugged the other in front, not bothering to pretend that this bothered him because nobody paid attention to him. Finally he fell asleep too feeling the comfortable weight of Hikaru's head on his sternum.

“Hey guys.”

"Five more minutes, Ryuuji," Kariya murmured, trying to get comfortable after someone moved his shoulder.

“Masaki, Hikaru, we are arriving.”

The teenager rolled over and half opened his eyes, still hugging Hikaru who was also starting to wake up. In front of them Endou smiled from ear to ear.

"You can see the whole city lit up," the young man observed, looking out of Hikaru's window, who jumped to peek out, clearing himself completely. 

Kariya protested because Hikaru's chest was against his face and hit his nose.

“Oh, I’m sorry, Masaki.”

"You have to sit well and put your seat belts on," Genda warned. “That goes for you too, Endou.”

The young man turned around with an annoyed face, he wanted to see more of the city, but the lights that indicated they should sit blinked and the plane shook heavily.

They all sat down properly, the captain's voice suddenly playing through the speakers choppy.

“We'll land soon. The temperature at Rome… Before ... we passed a zone of turbulence ... sitting until the light …”

The plane shook strongly, a scream could be heard among the passengers. They had entered the turbulence zone.

Kariya went livid and clung to Hikaru so tightly that he hurt him. But Hikaru was too scared to realize that. He took a deep breath, forcing himself not to think about the strong wind that was currently moving the plane like it was made of paper. His heart was pounding and he felt horrible dizziness in the pit of his stomach.

Kariya's eyes with barely visible pupil met Hikaru's. While Kariya had gone white, Hikaru had acquired a greenish hue. A new shake made the two of them bounce and hug each other. Showing extraordinary kindness Hikaru smiled at Kariya.

“Don’t worry, Masaki. It's just a little windy.”

Kariya bit his lip, he would lie if he said he wasn't terrified. But something in Hikaru's voice reassured him, knowing that he too felt bad and that instead of letting himself be overcome by it, he had decided to comfort him.

Kariya softened his grip a little, had left Hikaru's nails digging into his hand and felt bad about it, looked ahead and swallowed hard.

“Thanks, Hikaru.”

A slight rosy color appeared on Kariya's white cheeks and Hikaru felt an upset stomach that was far from those caused by the turbulence.

In the central part, none seemed exceptionally concerned. Endou looked at his Raimon boys and sighed, they were clearly upset.

“Calm down, guys. This is normal. They will pass soon, you will see.”

Hikaru and Kariya looked at him for a moment and nodded.

For his part, Sakuma took Genda's hand when the plane began to shake, not because he was really afraid, but he was comforted by the boy's warm touch. Genda said nothing about it, he knew it was better not to say anything. But he gave Sakuma a soft squeeze to let him know he was there with him. 

Afuro did not flinch in the least with the turbulence and continued reading that novel that he had taken out of his handbag again.

On the other side, Haruna and Alice had hugged each other in fright, letting out a whimper with the strongest turbulence. 

"I hate when there are turbulences," Alice said, feeling dizzy.

Haruna laughed softly, seconding her words.

She knew that she hadn’t to worry, that they were just strong winds. But what if the plane gave way and they fell? What if they were part of that tiny percentage of air accidents?

Kidou tried to calm the two girls down several times, but eventually gave up because they were not listening. He had never worried about turbulence and was not going to start on that trip, he knew that the plane was a safe way of transport and that on all trips it had to face at some point a stronger wind. 

Fudou leaned back in the seat, and although he wanted to hide that he was nervous a glassy shine in his eyes that Kidou did not miss delated him.

Kidou approached Fudou and whispered mockingly with some delight as revenge for Fudou's initial behave.

"Who were you planning to comfort like this, Akio?"

Fudou furrowed his eyebrows in annoyance, a cold sweat drop falling over his neck, but didn't answer, instead he bit his lip. That was enough for Kidou to understand how scared his friend was, he let out a deep breath and grabbed his hand, turning his head towards the window so that Fudou couldn’t see his embarrassed and flushed face.

Fudou opened his eyes when he noticed Kidou's hand on his and how his fingers intertwined with his. A strong heat and a great internal jolt joined the other sensations he was experiencing, although the fear and dizziness that had been growing in his stomach were diluted so easily that Fudou felt stupid. Was that really just what he need to make him feel safe? Did he just need Kidou to take his hand to make his worries go away?

Finally the turbulence stopped to the relief of most of the passengers who did not stop emitting sighs of tranquility. Not because of this, the caught hands stopped being like this and when the plane finally landed after a more violent landing than usual, people burst into applause when they finally knew they were safe. 

The group started to move along with all the other passengers, gathering their belongings and organizing themselves in several rows that went slowly outwards. The cold winter air seeped through the bars of the docking bridge, and the misted windows barely allowed them to see into the darkness outside.

Alice stayed with them until they left the airport after collecting their suitcases, several friends of hers went to pick her up and the girl happily said goodbye to all of them.

“It was a pleasure to meet you! I hope we will meet again sometime. Good luck and enjoy the journey.”

Haruna replied delighted.

“We are in contact, Alice!”

The girls hugged each other and the Italian girl turned to Fudou with a wide smile and whispered to him making the boy blush.

“The sunsets in Venice are the most romantic in the world, try to see some with him.”

She turned to Kidou with that same smile, winked at Fudou and left with her friends dragging a large suitcase with flowers. The young man in green glasses breathed a sigh of relief when he saw her leave.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize to make the flight two chapters long. I really like aeroplanes and flights and I became excited writing about these.


	5. Chapter 04

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group arrive at Rome and go to the hotel where Someoka is waiting for them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I like this chapter, I hope you'll like it too! This chapter starts the actions/intrigues in the story altough at first it will be slow. Specially because I went too excited about the trip in Rome and it uses some chapters more than expected (I love Italy I couldn't avoid writing about its cities :,D)

Although the drive to the hotel was not complicated, it was long and tiring. The group had reserved a special mini bus to take them together to the hotel, but at the entrance to the Italian capital lit by thousands of lights there was a big traffic jam and the vehicle was moving at exasperating speed.

Several sirens passed between all the lights, the traffic jam, as the driver informed them, was due to a traffic accident. The group remained silent during that trip, too tired to try to hide it, not even Haruna spoke in the chatty way she used to.

Upon arrival at the hotel Kidou paid the man. Everyone stretched and breathed the cold night air, there was a smell of food and history in the air. Fudou smiled looking around, he loved that city. 

“Guys!”

The deep and powerful voice of a young man in his mid-twenties with extremely short pink hair greeted them from the entrance of the building.

“Someoka!” several of them exclaimed as they turned around.

Fudou dashed to hug the boy who squeezed him tightly and lifted him up into the air.

“Ay ay ay!”

“How weak you are, Fudou!”

The boy laughed blatantly at his friend as he hugged Endou the same way he had done with him.

After hugging everyone with more or less intensity and ruffling Kariya and Hikaru's hair, Someoka stood before them.

“You took a long time, I've been waiting almost an hour.”

"There was an accident on the road and the traffic got horrible," Haruna reported with a smile.

Someoka nodded and clapped Kidou on the shoulder.

“Do you need help with Italian?”

" _No, grazie_ ," he replied in a perfect accent, then turned to the others, he reported. “I'm going to ask for the room keys, so we can leave our luggage and go to dinner.”

The boy entered followed by Afuro, who despite not understanding Italian liked to be aware of the movements of his trip. The others also entered, waiting in the hall for the two young men to return.

“How went the flight?” Someoka asked encouraged by the company of his dear friends.

"Well, although exhausting," Hikaru protested with a yawn.

“After dinner you can go to rest, tomorrow will be an intense day.”

“Did you manage to have a few days off in the end?” Endou asked.

“Nah, man, they haven't given me holidays. But when I finish working, I'll join you wherever you are.”

Endou and Someoka bumped fists.

At that moment Kidou and Afuro returned with the keys to the rooms, the expression of the boy who knew Italian hinted that something had happened. The blonde, on the other hand, had not heard anything about the conversation.

“What's up brother?” Haruna asked quickly.

"They've had a few problems with the rooms," Kidou reported with a resigned sigh. “They have changed our reservation.”

“Don't we have a room?” Sakuma worried.

“That's no problem. But the rooms we have are…” Kidou looked at the keys. “One single, one double and two triples.”

"It doesn't seem like a big deal," Genda observed, surprised that such a slight change in the reservation they had (four double rooms and one single room) seemed to have bothered the boy, although Kidou was very prickly.

Kidou opened his mouth, but closed it. Maybe it was better not to tell them that the problem was the beds. Instead of separate beds as requested, they had been given double beds, like a cheap movie joke.

“I want the single room!” Afuro exclaimed quickly.

“Buddy, isn't it better if you leave that room to Haruna?” Someoka commented.

The blond young man blinked.

“Hmm ... yes, it's true.”

"It doesn't matter, I can be with ..." 

“Then Haruna in the single room," Kidou said sharply, giving the key to Haruna.

"The two babies may be in the double," Fudou observed, though Kidou frowned.

"I don't know if it's a good idea they are so young..."

"Come on, man," Genda laughed, taking the key to the double room and handing it to Hikaru. “Not that they were going to burn the room.” Then he went to Hikaru's ear to whisper to him. “Don't burn the room.”  
The teenager laughed amused and Genda patted them on the head.

Then they were silent for a moment, the six young men remained to be distributed. Kidou noticed some heat inside, should he tell them about the beds?

"So ..." said Afuro, looking at the keys and then looking at his companions deciding who would be the least troublesome roommates. “Kidou, Fudou and Endou on the one room and Sakuma, Genda and me on the other, is that okay?”

The boys looked at each other and nodded. Kidou noticed his heat increasing, well luck was certainly not on his side, or maybe it was?

“Come on then, I'll wait here for dinner," Someoka smiled cheerfully.

The rooms were separated between the various floors of the hotel. A clean and well-kept hotel decorated in the old fashion but with an elegant and mysterious air. The group approached the two elevators and divided between them.

The first to reach her room was Haruna. A beautiful single room with everything you need to make your stay a pleasant one. Haruna put down her suitcase and quickly cleaned herself, looking with some temptation at the bathtub.

Hikaru and Kariya entered a hallway on the third floor on their own until they reached the room in the middle of it. They entered curiously and saw a nice room with a big bed.

Kariya froze with his mouth open, Hikaru blushing turned to him.

“It seems that we are going to sleep more together than we expected.”

He laughed somewhat uncomfortably and walked over to put his suitcase down, Kariya casually dropped it at the entrance while thinking about what Ryuuji would say when he sent him a photo as he had requested. Both teens went out again without worrying anymore.

In one of the triple rooms, Genda, Sakuma and Afuro had made no trouble with the distribution of beds. It had been a natural decision made by Afuro who with an elegant movement left his suitcase next to the single bed. Genda and Sakuma, despite saying nothing, preferred it that way.

"It must be this that has bothered Kidou," Afuro observed, combing his hair before going down and looking at the double bed where Genda had lain down to rest for a few moments and stretch his back, which creaked pleasantly for the young man.

"I'd pay to see Fudou right now," Sakuma laughed sitting next to Genda as he changed his shirt.

"Me too," muttered the other two, amused.

Kidou opened the door to his room on the other side of the building, turned on the light by plugging in the electric card, and let the other two boys through.

Endou let out an admired whistle of the place and Fudou followed him with one hand in his pocket until they noticed the beds.

Time stood still for a few moments in which neither said anything, three pairs of eyes observed the charming furniture of the room. 

“Do we draw lots who sleeps in the single bed?” Endou asked looking at the other two with an amused sparkle in his eyes.

Fudou had lost his seat in the same place and was staring at the double bed, why?

Kidou came up scratching his neck visibly embarrassed.

“What exactly were you thinking when you booked this, Kidou-kun?”

The boy huffed annoyed.

"First of all, the rooms were reserved by Sakuma, not me," he growled. “Secondly, he asked for single beds but I was told by the reception that a problem had arisen and only these rooms were available.”

“And you didn't tell us !?”

“What matters? As if something would have changed.”

Fudou growled crossing his arms.

“Eh ... guys, then we throw lots ...?”

"Shut up, Endou." Fudou turned to him angrily and put his hand on his face. “I don't want to sleep with you, you move more than a chihuahua with an overdose of coffee.”

"I don't want to sleep with Endou either." Kidou crossed his arms. “The last time I slept on a futon next to him at a soccer convention I woke up full of blows, and Kazemaru who slept the other side woke up with a black eye.”

"At least it was the eye he used to hide with his bangs," Endou apologized. Then he sighed and grabbed his suitcase, heading for the single bed. “Okay, okay, I'm keeping this bed. If you wanted to sleep together you just had to say it.”

The two strategists blushed at the same time.

"I don't want to sleep with him." Both voices sounded in unison.

"Sure..." Endou yawned and stretched. “Come on, I'm hungry.”

As he passed the boys, he slapped each one on the back and left the room with the two young men without looking at each other behind him.

They all went out to dinner together at a quaint-looking Italian restaurant a few minutes from the hotel. The dinner passed in almost perfect tranquility except for a few mocking comments regarding the rooms and beds. The food was exquisite, and although exhausted they enjoyed that moment all together.

At the end Someoka said goodbye to them until the next day and the group headed to the hotel again. 

It was then that Kidou suddenly stopped. A bad feeling.

A chill ran through his body without warning. He looked around, his group yawning forward without realizing that he was no longer following them and the rest of the people seemed to be enjoying the night under the orange lights of the streetlights that lit up the city. He turned around restlessly, he had the strange feeling that he was being watched.

Maybe… A cold sweat trickled down his neck, his heart pumping heavily from the blood moved by that sense of danger. But he didn't see anything, he didn't get anything. He took a breath trying to calm that paranoia. Nothing in the environment indicated that there was any real reason to worry. Why then did his whole body shudder like that?

Finally he took a couple of steps and a scream cracked the air, Kidou had no time to react. His vision blurred suddenly, someone had slammed into him and they were thrown to the ground. They turned several times in the fall, hitting the ground until finally stopping in a skid.

There was a loud noise from something heavy breaking. More screaming. Lots of screaming.

Kidou breathed heavily, all the blows had been muffled by the other person who was under his body when stopping and who held him tightly against him with one trembling hand behind his head and the other on his back; Kidou still hurt his burning right shoulder. His heart was going a thousand an hour, his glasses had fallen off on impact and his face was crushed against the chest of the person who had pushed him; he did not seem to have anything serious, thanks to the fact that he had been protected from every blow.

  
Kidou could feel the heartbeat of the person below him, wild. He knew exactly who he was despite not being able to see him, how could he not know? That smell, that feeling were unmistakable. He tried to separate but his arms held him against his body.

“Fudou …”

“What the fuck were you thinking, Yuuto !? It almost killed you!”

Kidou's nostrils flared with a shudder and he moved to sit up, feeling dizzy. 

“What happened?” He turned his head to where he had heard the noise.  
His words were lost in the cold night wind when he saw just where he had remained motionless looking around the remains of a large shattered pot, the earth had flown in all directions and the plants destroyed against the ground were a remnant of what It could have been him if it hadn't been for Fudou. If that had fallen on him it would have undoubtedly killed him.

  
His body began to tremble with a strong feeling of nausea and panic growing from his stomach. Kidou contracted his face and tried to keep the filthy feeling from rising up his throat.

A group of people had gathered around them, Genda was running to meet them with the others from behind. They heard sirens in traffic.

Kidou turned to Fudou and felt a stab of pain shake him inside with a wave of emotions far worse than those he had just experienced. His turquoise eyes looked at him with the same ferocity as always but they were cloudy, from the left part of his forehead gushed a stream of blood that was staining his pale face.  
  
The nausea grew and Kidou could barely control a stomach spasm that wanted to make him vomit. His chest ached as much as if it had been pierced, he brought his hands to the wound to stop the bleeding, to no avail.

Fudou smiled at him as he caught his panicked eyes, red as blood flowing from his body. 

“It's but a scratch, Kidou-kun.”

Kidou's lips tightened with pain, the blood was already staining the brunette boy's cheek and his hands were covered with that warm liquid of life that trickled between his fingers.   
  
Fudou made a move to get up, but before he could do so, he vanished with a seizure that ran through his entire body.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you liked the chapter you can write a coment, coments really cheers my up (altough I'm a disarter that are so slow replying because I love to reread them ;v;).  
> Thanks for reading~ I see you next week! :D


	6. Chapter 05

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I totally forgot to post it before... I thought I had to translate it but I already had it translated.
> 
> I hope you'll like it! If you do, don't be shy to leave a coment or a kudo to support the story! Anyways I'd love to read about your opinions like favourite parts and so!

“Leave me alone! I'm fine. I’m gonna punch the next one who asks about my head.”

Fudou was in an unusual bad mood, perhaps because he wasn’t amused by waking up in an ambulance after passing out due to the blow to the head when he threw himself at Kidou to prevent a flowerpot from ending the glory days of the Japanese strategist. The boy had protested like never before to be let go and flatly refused to go to the hospital.

At that time the group had returned to the hotel, silent and deadly pale. The memories of the merry dinner had been forgotten. Everyone was watching Fudou with concern, and this only managed to irritate him further. They were all sitting together in one of the rooms that the hotel had for its guests with large sofas and comfortable armchairs.

Fudou had his head bandaged in the ambulance after the wound was healed and some simple tests were carried out to verify that it was not a serious injury. Fortunately for him, it was only the shock and the wound, although it was spectacular, it was not serious.

Kidou, meanwhile, had to speak to a couple of police officers recounting what had happened, which they quickly classified as an accident.

The man was tired and didn’t want to argue with the police; but now, sitting next to Fudou in horrible silence in the hotel lounge, he couldn't help but feel that this was too much of a coincidence. 

“What a day, huh?” Endou sighed trying to break the tense atmosphere.

Everyone looked at him askance, some dared a shy smile appear on his lips. Fudou took a deep breath and stood up suddenly.

"I'm going to bed." He was tired of everyone looking at him constantly as if he might pass out again at any moment, and he was also tired of exhaustion.

"Good night," the others replied almost in unison.

Immediately Kidou also got up and went after him without saying anything else, he only moved an exhausted hand and patted his sister's head affectionately.

"Shouldn't you go with them, Endou?" Genda observed, his arms crossed and his expression thoughtful.

"I'll give them a little time," he murmured, scratching his head and following Kidou who disappeared as he walked through the door. “I think they want to be alone for now.”

"What a detail," Afuro murmured, hiding a yawn. “I hope they will open the door to you later.”

Endou shrugged and Haruna looked at him with regret, she had been very scared after what happened.

"Hikaru, Masaki." Genda looked at the teens. “You should go to sleep, it is very late and we have to get up early tomorrow.”

"Tomorrow will be a good day, boys," Endou smiled with certainty. “We are going to have a lot of fun visiting Rome all together.”

Hikaru, quite uneasy, nodded and stood up, he was very pale. Kariya followed suit, stretched out a bit, glancing sideways at his friend who was quite concerned about..

"I am also leaving for now, I am very tired," Haruna commented with a yawn. “Come on, boys.”

The girl went to the elevators with the two teenagers and the four young men were alone in that little room.

No one said anything for a moment. Each one exploring in the depths of his own thoughts.

“It was an accident, wasn't it?” Genda suddenly asked, looking at his companions with a suspicious expression.

"Sure," Endou was surprised. “How could it not be an accident?”

Genda narrowed his eyes at the curious gaze of Afuro and Sakuma. 

"I don't know." Genda scratched his head, not knowing how to explain it. “It's weird, it's just a feeling …”

The other boys looked at each other and shrugged.

"I don't think you need to worry anymore, Genda." Sakuma smiled at him and tried to comforting him by resting a hand on his shoulder.

"We are just tense about what happened, tomorrow will be another day," Afuro murmured, moving his foot rhythmically.

“Of course! You will see that we are going to have a wonderful vacation and have a lot of fun.”

Genda looked at his friends and understood that none of them was really worried about the origin of the accident. Although they were frightened by the nearness of the catastrophe and the hit to the head of Fudou they considered it something merely fortuitous. He leaned back in his seat as the other boys exchanged trivial comments with each other to try to calm his spirits.

However, his blue eyes narrowed. Perhaps only he had noticed that. Genda closed his eyes. No matter how he saw it, there was no way Fudou could have reacted the way he did, he was too fast to move, it couldn’t be unless… Genda joined his hands and bit his lip in that deep reflection. He saw his friend's face when he realized that Kidou was not with them, the terror that reflected his face was what most disturbed Genda, he had never seen Fudou like this. Fudou feared that something would happen, he was on guard; but why, what did he know that the others didn’t?

* * *

“Leave me alone, Kidou!” Fudou shouted angrily in his room. “I'm perfectly ok! I can put the fucking pajamas alone, I’m not disabled. The nurse said it was just a scratch!”

“They also said that you should avoid strong emotions for now.”

The brunette young man snorted and changed his clothes without looking at Kidou. Kidou's red eyes silently stared at Fudou's wounds that had not been exposed until now. He had a cut at the ribs, bruises all over his body, and his hands were burned and cut by rubbing against the ground. And that despite wearing the coat that cushioned the worst.

"Kidou," Fudou threatened as he turned and saw the man's guilty expression pinned to his body.

"Sorry," he said only leaning his back against the wall, he was exhausted and unable to put his own thoughts and emotions in order.

"Damn it, Kidou," the brunette snorted again. “We have been worse hurt in soccer matches, stop putting that face like I was going to die.”

“But …”

Fudou contracted his eyebrows in an aggressive grimace, which led to a painful stab in his head. 

He turned annoyed and punched the wall violently right next to Kidou's face who did not flinch, he was used to Fudou and his grumpy attitude, despite the fact that with age he had calmed down a lot. The brown boy was right in front of him, looking him in the eyes fiercely, his hand resting on the wall where he had hit. Kidou held that look with a serious face.

But suddenly his turquoise eyes watered, and repressed tears began to fall, Kidou ran out of air, he was not so used to it, he felt a strong oppression in his chest immediately. Kidou raised his arms to hug him, but they stayed halfway as he spoke.

“You could have died, Yuuto.”

Kidou felt as if he was slapped and a strong wave of panic shook his body again. His arms hung limply. 

"It was an accident ..." he replied in a low voice.

Fudou made a noise mixed with a growl and a sob and hugged him tightly, he had his doubts that it had been accidental; but it was better not to say anything more about it.

“Just be careful, please. I don't know what I would do without you.” Fudou's hug grew tighter.

To Kidou, Fudou's broken voice was even worse than seeing him hurt, Fudou's broken voice made all his skin shudder and his heart skipped a beat when he noticed in him all those feelings that his friend suffered at that time. He felt a tear slide down his own cheek.

Kidou hugged him back, with a feeling of vulnerability that he hadn't felt in years. 

“Thanks for saving me once again.”

The turquoise eyes widened for a moment at those words, his hands rested much more gently on Kidou's broad back and his gaze softened. He did not know how to answer, but it was not necessary, the hug spoke for both of them.

A knock on the door startled them, they heard Endou's voice on the other side. Fudou withdrew and wiped away the tears that still ran down his face as Kidou went to open the young man.

* * *

Kariya remained lying on the bed with his gaze fixed on the ceiling while Hikaru was in the bathroom cleaning himself before sleeping. That, he thought, was a horrible way to end the first day of the trip. He stretched out his arms perpendicularly and sighed, thankfully nothing serious had happened. He moved his legs slowly raising them straight, first one, then the other, if it hadn't been for Fudou's quick reaction… 

Kariya's eyes narrowed, a very quick reaction. Too fast maybe. He kicked the thoughtful air. All this gave him a very bad feeling, a really very bad feeling. Perhaps it would have been better not to accept Hikaru's invitation.

Of course ... it would have been much worse not to accept his invitation and that Hikaru was alone in those moments. Or to know with whom, perhaps Tenma. Kariya dropped back onto the bed.

Ryuuji would tell him to follow his intuition. He bit his lip. His intuition told him that there was something very ugly behind that trip. 

He ran his hands over his eyes, Hikaru was taking a long time.

Suddenly he heard a sob and jumped up, as if spring-loaded.

“Hikaru!” he yelled, reaching for the bathroom with a couple of strides.

Kariya opened the door to the toilet without knocking or asking if it could enter, an action he might have regretted, but fortunately he didn’t.

“Come!” Kariya growled angrily when he saw that Hikaru was leaning against the sink crying.

Hikaru looked at him horrified and embarrassed, but Kariya grabbed him by the wrist and pulled him to his body, hugging him.

The teenager trembled a little and leaned against the gap between Kariya's neck and shoulder. For the past year, he grew taller and was noticeably taller than the other boy who seemed to have stagnated in his height.

Kariya began stroking Hikaru's head in comforting mode, as Midorikawa did to him when he was sad. 

"Sorry, Masaki," the boy hiccupped in his ear. “I didn't want you to see me cry.”

Kariya rolled his eyes, two emotions fighting inside him. One was anger and the other did not know how to name it. But it grew on his chest whenever Hikaru was around.

“Don't be an idiot, Hikaru. You know you can come with me when you feel bad.”

Hikaru calmed down after a while, and after washing his face he agreed to get into bed with Kariya.

“What worries you so much?” asked the orange-eyed teenager looking at Hikaru in the gloom, only broken by a soft beam of light that filtered through a strip that had been left open in the curtains of the window. Neither of them liked sleeping completely in the dark.

Hikaru turned to face him, trying to put words to the weight of his stomach.

“Coach Kidou could have died …”

Kariya sighed.

“You always worry a lot, Hikaru. But nothing happened, right?”

Hikaru nodded.

“Then don't think twice. It was an accident, you will see how we will have fun on the trip.”

Hikaru blinked thoughtfully.

“I suppose.”

“If we start to think about all that could go wrong we would never end. Accidents happen...”

Hikaru nodded again silently, then smiled sheepishly.

“You are right, I don't have to worry.”

Kariya smiled back at him with a confidence he was far from truly feeling as he grabbed his hand tightly.

“I promise nothing bad will happen to us, Hikaru.”

Little Kariya knew in those moments, when they gradually returned to feel safe sheltered by the blankets and hugging each other in their comfortable hotel bed, that he would not be able to keep his promise.

  
A lugubrious, strong wind shook the windows.


	7. Chapter 06

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I submit it today, because I want to finish the Rome chapters (still are a few more). I hope you'll like it! 
> 
> Demonio joins the party with this chapter! 
> 
> Also, Haruna is already dating someone, but I won't write who because it won't be relevant... so everyone can imagine whoever they want.

It was dead of night when Genda suddenly opened his eyes with a hint of danger. He immediately sat up in the darkness of his room, sweating heavily and his racing heart seemed about to explode.

“Kageyama.”

A thunderclap sounded in the distance as violent raindrops began pounding on the shutters.

He couldn't believe it, no, he couldn't believe it. His chest rose and fell trying to catch oxygen from the air through a ragged breath. 

That was why Fudou was alert, that was why Fudou was scared when not seeing Kidou by his side. 

Genda ran his hand over his face, trying to calm himself. Kageyama.

But… hadn't Kageyama already redeemed himself? Hadn't Kageyama helped save the world two years before by leading the Inazuma Earth Eleven team?

Genda moved out of bed to wash his face in the sink, when he turned on the tap he noticed how his hand trembled. He bit his lip and walked to the window, the dim light from the lit streetlights illuminating a lonely street. Genda swallowed hard, a powerful feeling of dread bubbling up in his stomach.

Afuro slept peacefully in his bed, wore cloth glasses over his eyes, and smiled even in dreams. Unaware of his friend's discomfort. Sakuma, however ...

“Are you okay, Koujirou?”

A warm hand rested on Genda's arm causing him to look away from the outside with a different tickle in his stomach, it was always so nice to hear his name on Sakuma's lips. His blue eyes met his amber eye.

“Jirou.”

Genda forced himself to smile and tenderly brushed a strand of Sakuma's disheveled hair from his face, brushing his cheek in the gesture and making the silver-haired boy blush in the dark at such soft contact.

“It's nothing, I just had a bad dream.”

Sakuma looked at his friend's gentle face and smiled at him wanting to comfort him.

“I understand, it ended then.”

Genda's blue eyes flashed sadly for a moment, but he nodded knowing that he was going to shamelessly lie to the person he loved most.

“Yes, there is nothing to worry about.”

Sakuma tilted his head, slightly frowning at his choice of words.

“Are you sure you're okay, Koujirou?”

The brown boy nodded, turning completely from the window as lightning illuminated the room with a fleeting bluish light.

“Let's go back to bed or we'll catch a cold.”

The silver-haired young man watched him closely as he got back into bed and gestured for him to follow him. Why was Genda so strange? Why was Genda avoiding him? As Sakuma got into bed he approached the other man and put an arm over his bulky body.

“You know you can tell me anything, Koujirou.”

He stared at him for a moment, smiled again and hugged him to his body, burying his face in Sakuma's silky silver hair.

“I know.”

Genda closed his eyes, enjoying the moment with Sakuma and trying to put aside his worries. After all, he had no proof that Kageyama was really behind it, and even if he was, he wasn't sure he would try to do something devilish again. Maybe it had really just been an accident.

A new thunder cracked the silence of the night in the distance.

* * *

The sun rose shyly after a dark and stormy night, the puddle-covered streets began to fill with people who started their workday early.

Haruna woke up in her room after a hectic night. She hadn't slept well despite the exhaustion and her dreams were peppered with nightmares. When she woke up she stared at the ceiling of her room for a few moments, she sighed rubbing her eyes heavily. She fumbled for her glasses and picked up her mobile phone.  
A smile lit up her face when she discovered that she had several messages from her partner in which she was wished a good day. Haruna hastened to reply. She stretched and decided to take a good shower before going down to have breakfast with the others.

When the girl went down to the hotel restaurant at the agreed breakfast time, she discovered that she was not the first to arrive. Sitting around a large circular table were Endou, Sakuma, Genda, and the two teenagers.

"Good morning," Haruna smiled, sitting next to Sakuma.

"Good morning," all but Endou replied, his mouth full of scrambled eggs and sausages and unable to speak.

"Has my brother not come down yet?" asked the girl, looking at the people who were moving around the breakfast plates that the Buffet restaurant offered.

"No, Kidou and Fudou were still showering when I came down," Endou replied after swallowing the food.

Everyone's puzzled gazes turned towards Endou.

“Said like that, it seems that they were having a shower together” Haruna laughed thinking that Endou, despite being a football genius, sometimes did not know how to speak correctly.

"It’s because they were taking a shower together," Endou replied with a shrug.

Genda fastened to cover Hikaru's ears, although Hikaru was already staring endlessly at Endou and was red-faced. Even Kariya decided that this was more interesting than arguing with Midorikawa via mobile about the amount of sugar that was excessive for health in chocolate milk, whose cup bubbled dangerously in front of Kariya.

Endou smiled seeing that everyone was looking at him, surely thinking of the same thing that had made him, exasperated, to decide to leave them alone in the room and go to breakfast.

“Kidou and Fudou woke up short time ago, since I got up early I was ready to leave when Kidou got up to shower. Fudou woke up shortly after him, he saw that Kidou was in the shower and he came in screaming to let him shower first because with his damn dreadlocks it was going to take Kidou forever and he wasn't going to have anything left for breakfast when he finished. Kidou yelled at him to get his stupid ass out of the bathroom and leave him alone, that he should have gotten up earlier. Then I heard them scream at the same time, it seems that Fudou entered the shower with him. I did not want to know where it ended, I told them that I was already going down, although I doubt they heard me.”

All at once let out a heavy sigh.

The two strategists arrived a long time later, although they were not the last because Afuro took even longer to go down to breakfast.

“How are you feeling, Fudou?” Genda asked with a smirk looking at the two young men acting as if nothing had happened.

"Fine," growled the appellee, sitting down at the table with a tray full of bacon, eggs, bread, and orange juice.

“Has the shower been good for you?” Sakuma asked mockingly.

They all giggled and the two strategists immediately turned their heads towards Endou so quickly that it looked like they broke their necks. Their faces turned red immediately.

“Endou!” they yelled at once.

Endou felt a weight lodge in his stomach, a drop of cold sweat running down his neck.

"You are a dead man," Fudou threatened, narrowing his eyes and cracking his knuckles.

* * *

  
Despite the threats, no one hurt Endou, and after breakfast they went up to brush their teeth to leave the hotel and finally begin to see the city.

At the exit, leaning against a lamppost, a young man with long light hair gathered in dreadlocks, with glasses and gray eyes, was waiting. Seeing them leave he stood up and waved a hand approaching them smiling.

Endou ran to hug him with great joy.

“Demonio! How long since we met!”

The others shook his hand, although Genda allowed himself a pat on the back as well.

“You've grown, Demonio.”

Kidou and Fudou were the last to see Demonio in person, and that was a couple of years ago. Despite that, the boys had maintained a close relationship through social networks.

Demonio turned to Hikaru.

“Are you Kageyama’s nephew?” The teenager nodded and Demonio looked at him seriously, but then sighed with relief. “Thank goodness you didn't inherit his beauty.”

Everyone laughed, though Kariya's colors rose.

“Are you ready to see Rome?” the boy asked cheerfully, changing the subject.

They all responded cheerfully.

“As we only have two days before we go to Florence it will be very intense and we will not be able to see much. But I hope you like it.”

"The most important thing is that we will all be together," Endou replied happily.

Haruna nodded and looked at her camera, a gift from her brother for her previous birthday. She wanted to immortalize every moment so that they would never forget it (which was really going to be unnecessary, they could not forget that trip while they lived), she had already taken some photos at Inazuma airport, on the plane and the hotel, but the most interesting thing was starting from that moment.

The girl was extremely excited about that trip, she had never traveled to Italy even though her brother lived there for several years. There was so much happiness in her that she completely forgot about the bad memories of the night before.

“Let's take a picture together!”

They all posed for photography with varying degrees of enthusiasm.

"By the way, guys," said Demonio, adjusting his scarf to avoid cold drafts. “Tonight we will have company for dinner.”

“Who?”

“Some old friends, some Orpheus boys live in Rome and have moved heaven and earth to have free tonight.”

“Will Fideo come? And Gigi? And Raffaele? And Giorgio? And…?”

"Easy, Mamoru," laughed Demonio “you don't have to name the entire team. Raffaele does not live in Rome, but we will see him in Florence with Giorgio and Vento. Tonight will come Fideo, Gigi, Angelo, Dante, Anton, Hide and Luca.”

“Brilliant! And Someoka will also come!”

Endou started moving excitedly around Demonio as they walked towards the Tourist Bus stop that would take them to the Roman Forum, their first visit during that trip.

"Thanks for being our tour guide, Demonio," Afuro said, approaching him.

The boy shrugged.

“It's nothing, I'm used to it because I work on it. “

“Are you a tour guide?”

“Yes, I am a guide for Japanese tourists. Although I certainly won't charge you.” He laughed and looked at Afuro. “Being able to be with you all is already enough payment.”

Afuro smiled at him kindly, he really didn't know the boy but he had heard his story through Endou.

“Is the Roman Forum far?”

“From here by bus it will take us nothing to get there.”

The two boys continued talking to each other while the others followed, humming in the case of Endou and Haruna.  
  
Two beautiful days awaited them in Rome, and nothing, nothing was going to prevent them from enjoying to the fullest. 

On the horizon the dark storm clouds could still be seen clearly.


	8. Chapter 07

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group starts their visit in Rome with Demonio being their guide.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I LOVED writing this chapter because I absolutely love Rome so much. I've been there twice and I really want to go again, Italy is the country I like most (besides mine), it gives me a really nostalgic feeling. When I was in Rome I had the feeling of being at home, idk... I just enjoyed the city so much!
> 
> There's a lot of history information, but I couldn't avoid to write it, I hope you'd like the chapter and maybe learn something new? I learned some of these things researching for Rome History, and more things. I stayed more time reading History than writing the chapter, I like History a lot too.

The sight of those fragments of a glorious past surrounded by brush and dirt inevitably opened the mouth of that group of tourists who were observing with reverence.

“This is the Roman Forum, formerly it was the center of Rome, the  _ Forum Magnum _ . Around here people made their lives, shops, temples ... everything.”

Demonio Strada was narrating the history of that place, stories covered in stories, since other buildings could be found over other buildings. 

"It's impressive" Afuro murmured, amazed by the beauty of the place. “Somehow it seems like you can still hear these people, right?”

"Well wait until nightfall," Demonio joked.

Hikaru gaped at the great columns in front of which they walked along the  _ Via Sacra, _ imagining the spectacle that it would be to see them in their time of splendor.

Kariya walked with his hands in his pockets, occasionally taking a photo to send to Ryuuji and Tatsuya.

They advanced as Demonio explained to which building every last stone belonged, looking excited as he spoke.

“This is the  _ Arco di Tito _ , one of our greatest treasures. It was built in 82 AD to commemorate the victories of Emperor Titus, including the siege of Jerusalem in 70 AD. Until 1948 the Jews refused to pass under it by rabbinical prohibition.”

Fudou looked again at the beautiful arch and its surprisingly well-preserved reliefs considering the antiquity of that work of art. His eyes wandered to the  _ Victoria _ that placed a Laurel wreath on the Emperor’s head.

“In addition this arch has served as inspiration for later Arcs de Triomphe, including the one in Paris.”

Haruna, Hikaru and Endou let out a startled cry and looked at the construction with even more interest. 

They kept going, Demonio knew that he shouldn't linger too much because they had so little time to see the entire city. However, he couldn't help it. The story fascinated him, there was so much that could be said about each relief, each figure, each crack in the stones. 

Before they knew it the visit to the Roman Forum was over and they were in front of the surely most iconic building in Rome. 

His eyes stared at that building for a moment, clearly amazed. Large, majestic, imposing. Then Demonio spoke again and almost all eyes went to him.

“The Colosseum, or  _ Anfiteatro Flavio _ , is Patrimony of the Humanity and one of the Seven New Wonders of the Modern World. The name of Colosseum comes from a large statue that was nearby, the Colossus of Nero, but sadly it has not managed to get to this day. Nero, incidentally, is believed to have been responsible for the Great Fire of Rome in 64 AD and to have wiped out much of the city. It is even said that while the city was burning he composed music with his Lira. This fire destroyed the previous amphitheater making a new one necessary.”

"How terrible," Haruna murmured, covering her mouth.   
Demonio smiled and told them more about the man's life, related to the Colosseum in several ways, causing almost everyone to be horrified.

"Did he kill his own mother?" Sakuma shook his head in disbelief.

"It was another time," sighed Genda, once again observing the Colosseum with his blue eyes twinkling in the sunlight.

They entered the Colosseum without waiting in line thanks to the Vips passes that Afuro had obtained.

"What a place," Endou hissed, and grabbed Genda's arm to point at something making them both laugh.

"I don't like it very much," Kariya murmured softly, making Hikaru turn to him.

“Why? It is spectacular.”

"Sure, but ..." Kariya had a chill, a chill that had nothing to do with the cold of the season. “It gives me a bad feeling, like ... like there were gho-ghosts.”

Hikaru smiled kindly but Demonio who was listening to him laughed.

“You're a intuitive boy, huh Masaki? You are right, there are many people who say they see ghosts here, in fact this place is part of a tourist route of the Mysteries of Rome. It is not surprising considering that more than four hundred thousand people and more than a million animals died in this place. During the inauguration alone, they killed more than 5,000 animals.”

Everyone listened intently to Demonio, horrified by the atrocity of it and making the sights of that renowned place suddenly stain with the blood of all the innocents who had finished their days in the arena to amuse a death-thirsty audience. Scared and white Kariya clutched the hand of Hikaru, who upon hearing that had stopped being so happy.

“It is said that when night falls and there are no more tourists within its walls, the ghosts of the gladiators who cannot reach eternal rest seek revenge for their deaths arising from the stones and wandering between wailing and chain noises. There are those who even claim to have heard the sad roar of an animal that mourns its death.”

Kariya felt a strong chill and hugged Hikaru even tighter. Haruna, Endou, Genda, and Sakuma also seemed altered.

“There is a legend that sais that when the full moon shines and the twelfth chime of the night is heard in the distance, if someone from the world of the living would dare to go through the arches that lead to the arena, they would leave this world forever and would be trapped with the spirits for all eternity ... condemned to wander every night ... condemned to exist looking for misery among the living …”

A sudden chime and a sad lament made almost everyone jump scared with tears in their eyes, they hugged each others. With the nervous system on the verge of collapse and livid as ever.

Afuro began to laugh out loud, turning off his cell phone from which the sound had come, while the others recovered their sanity and assimilated what just happened, getting seriously upset.

Kidou, who had barely flinched and who was hugged by Haruna and Fudou, laughed too.

Meanwhile between Endou, Genda and Fudou grabbed Afuro and shook him angrily.

"Don't look at me, it was Demonio's idea," the young man excused himself with laughter, making the murderous glances pass to his guide.

"Dramatic effect," he replied only with a huge shrug of amusement as he watched the other young men jump to hit him too.

Kariya, who wasn’t yet able to catch his breath, sat on the cold floor because his legs were shaking and they couldn't hold him any longer. What a joke, even he wasn't that horrible. He took a deep breath to calm himself.

“Come on come on. Not everything is bad in the Colosseum, naval fights were also held here, can you imagine how crazy it is to fill the arena with water? We Romans are impressive.”

“Don't play innocent!” the others yelled at him.

"It was a very ugly joke," Haruna protested.

The teenager with long greenish hair continued to sit trying to recover his vital signs while the rest of his group made noise around Demonio and Afuro. But suddenly he felt an icy gaze on them, another chill ran through his body, a chill from the world of the living and much more dangerous. He turned quickly as his heart became alarmed again and he saw, just for a few moments, a hooded person who disappeared from his sight with a whisper of the cape by a nook between the stones. Kariya swallowed, sat up as he could and approached Genda who inspired him security, he not knowing what the teenager saw, grabbed him and gave him a couple of affectionate shakes.

Neither Kariya nor any of them saw a hooded man again in what remained of the day. After the visit of the Colosseum they went to the  _ Palatine _ , the hill where, according to Legend, Rome was founded, and then to the  _ Circus Massimo _ , which despite its great past had become a public park. Those two visits were more enjoyable in terms of history, and as they watched the tracks on which numerous charioteers once competed, they imagined themselves driving those vehicles.

“It would be fun to be able to do such a competition between us, who do you think would win?” Endou asked.

"Genda," Sakuma replied immediately before anyone else could answer, when he saw everyone looking at him, he shrugged. "Genda is very good at riding horses.”

"But they weren't on horseback, the horses were pulling the cart," Fudou pointed out. “I think I would win.”

"Sure, of course," they all sighed.

"I think Endou would win," Genda laughed. “Surely he would remove the horses and pull the cart himself.”

That made everyone laugh, heading to a pizzeria because it was time to eat and they were hungry.

After the meal they went to see the  _ Bocca della Verità _ where Genda scared everyone with an impressive and realistic performance in which he simulated that the huge mouth had eaten his hand.

"You asshole, Genda," Sakuma growled after leaving the place with laughter after everyone passed through their mouths so that Haruna could take pictures of each of them.

"In the end you all laughed, it's the important thing," Genda pointed out smiling, grabbing Sakuma by the shoulder and pulling him closer, giving him a kiss in the forehead as they walked towards their next destination, the  _ Marcello Theater _ .

They liked  _ Teatro Marcello _ a lot, and Demonio did not miss the opportunity to tell them the history of that place that seemed much less visited, there was hardly a small part of the tourists who condensed in other areas of the city and it even seemed that some of they would have come by chance.

It was getting dark when they went to the  _ Campidoglio _ , they climbed with some exhaustion long stairs until they reached the square, a beautiful place designed by  _ Michelangelo _ around which stood some of the most important Museums in the city but for reasons of time they could not visit. 

There waiting was Someoka who approached them, hugging them with enthusiasm.

“How about you day? Are you enjoying the city?”

Everyone nodded and the boy rubbed his hands together delighted that he could finally be with his friends.

They again observed the Roman Forum, which at that time was illuminated by the artificial lights of the spotlights, creating an even more mysterious air. Demonio pointed them to a steep slope, Tarpeya Rock.

“According to Legend, the vestal Tarpeya betrayed Rome by letting the Sabines in, the background itself is another long story, only to find her death when they managed to get in and be thrown here as an example for traitors. For a long time, all those who committed treason in Rome were forced to throw themselves off and then displayed their shattered corpses in the  _ Gemoniae _ .”

They all looked with dismay at the place.

" _ Arx tarpeia Capitoli proxima, _ " sighed Demonio, stretching.

“Is there only death stories in Rome?” Hikaru asked, walking away from the slope.

Demonio laughed and winked at him, but Someoka moved closer to Hikaru's ear and whispered to him.

“Don't expect many stories with a happy ending.”

  
After spending time in the  _ Campidoglio, _ they continued walking towards their last destination of the day,  _ Piazza Venezia _ .

The group arrived tired and with sore feet, they barely enjoyed the monument to  _ Víctor Manuel II _ . They sat on the stone steps while Demonio told them the history of the place in the same way that he had done with the other places visited.

“The monument was completed in 1927 and symbolizes the unity of Italy.”

Endou yawned loudly, rubbed his roaring guts, and looked at the time.

“When will we have dinner? I'm hungry.”

"Endou, we are enjoying the views," Afuro protested somewhat indignantly that Endou seemed so uninterested in that place.

“But I am hungry.”

Demonio was not offended at all, perhaps because he was tired and hungry himself, and looked at his mobile.

“We’ll met the boys near here, we can go now if you want.”

Everyone stretched out and headed to the meeting place. When they arrived there was a great uproar because the Italian boys, with the exception of Luca, began to shout cheerfully to the Japanese group.

“Mamoru!” Fideo jumped to hug Endou who was laughing almost like mad with the joy of seeing his dear friends.

When Fideo released him, the young Japanese found himself caught in Gigi's strong arms that lifted him off the ground in a show of excessive affection.

After a few chaotic moments of laughter, reunion and introductions of those whom they did not know, they calmed down a bit and entered a restaurant with local food.

  
The food was delicious, although not as much as the company; as Endou shouted after drinking three glasses of wine, something not highly recommended in his case since it made him much louder.

"I haven't seen you in a while, Kidou," said Hidetoshi, who sat opposite the strategist.

"You're still wearing super ugly glasses," murmured Luca sitting next to Hidetoshi looking at Kidou's lenses.

"They don't look that way to me," Kidou replied, frowning.

"That's because your taste was lost the same day that the first dinosaur hatched from its egg," Fudou scoffed, joining the conversation.

Everyone who listened laughed and Kidou furrowed his eyebrows even more.

"We are also going to Venice for the Benefactor party," Hidetoshi said suddenly looking seriously at Kidou.

“Who?”

“Fideo, Luca, Rushe and me.”

"Oh ..." Kidou's lips parted. “That's great.”

“Yes, although we can't go yet. We will go the day indicated in the invitation.”

"I hope it's worth going to Venice with so many people coming for Carnival," Luca protested with his mouth full.

Fudou had raised his glass of wine to his lips, but he left it resting on them with his hand lazily stopped in his path, his gaze met Kidou's and he noticed how Kidou's nose widened as he breathed, demonstrating his uneasiness. Fudou blinked slowly and tilted his head slightly towards him as a sign of understanding.

“Hey brother! Eat this” Haruna's happy voice made them come out of that trance and return to the carefree atmosphere of the restaurant.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My favourite part is the joke in the Colosseum, altough the "legend" it's invented it's really said that are actually ghost there. 
> 
> One of the times I went to Rome was with my School (Studying Trip) and I laughed a lot in the Colosseum because one of my friends told another one that when it was festive they brought real lions and tigers to the arena and she believed it and it was amazing.


	9. Chapter 08

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group arrives to Basilica Papale di San Pietro and starts the visit, but Hikaru seems to have fever and Fudou decides to go buy some medicine, Genda joins him to talk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really like this chapter and so I hope you'll! I love Genda so much, he is going to be really important for the plot and for the group.

The second day in Rome came with a sigh, that night everyone slept much better than the previous one and the finally clear and blue sky seemed a good omen regarding their trip.   
  
Afuro looked out the window while brushing his long golden hair.

“It's a great day.”

His two roommates turned around, Sakuma even came over to look out the window.

“Nice, I was worried it might rain.”

Genda heard the two boys talk about the day's plans as he gathered all his things in the suitcase. At night they would travel to Florence and they had to leave everything ready.

Demonio was waiting for them outside the hotel again, he also carried a suitcase that Kidou took to store in the left-luggage office next to his until the night when the minibus that would take them to Florence came to pick them up.

"Well, group," Demonio smiled with a beaming smile and put his arm around Endou who was looking at him excitedly. “Today it is time to continue our visit, the first stop, the _ Stato della Città del Vaticano _ . We will have to go fast because there is still so much to see."

Everyone nodded and headed to a bus stop, it was a long journey on foot.

Inside the vehicle they chatted animatedly, except for Hikaru who looked sweaty and had his hands tightly clasped to his stomach. Kariya watched him for a few moments but said nothing, just letting his body brush against the other teenager's. None of the adults seemed to notice Hikaru's stomach ache.

When they finally arrived, Demonio allowed them a few moments to go to their whim and take photos, Fudou remained beside him thoughtfully.

“We are going to enter the  _ Necropolis _ , right?”

"Yes, Akio," Demonio smiled.

Fudou narrowed his eyes at Hikaru and Kariya, somewhat concerned that he considered them too impressionable for them to enjoy that visit.

“Group, come!” Demonio called with a whistle. “What you are seeing now is an independent city-state, the smallest country in the world and also the most urbanized. We will start our visit seeing the  _ Necropolis _ and we will leave in the  _ Basilica Papale di San Pietro. _ Then we will see the Vatican Museums, we will have something to eat and we will return to Rome. We have very little time and are long visits, so please do not separate. Follow me.”

They went to the entry point, where they passed the control of their belongings and showed the accreditations that allowed them to enter.   
A guide was waiting for them, this time Demonio would not be the one to give the explanations since they did not allow groups to pass without attention.

When they came down at once they noticed a damp cold that seeped into their clothes. Hikaru shuddered and clutched his gut even tighter.

The tour of the catacombs lasted an hour and a half and was equally terrifying and spectacular. Fudou and Afuro quite enjoyed the visit and dared to make some jokes of black humor in front of the exasperated gaze of Sakuma. Hikaru and Kariya instead thought that they could have perfectly passed that visit and happily continued on with their lives. Kariya was scared with every step, believing to see shadows or hear noises while Hikaru was increasingly greenish and sweaty, the cold was affecting him negatively. Haruna regretted that she could not have brought the camera on that occasion.

When they finally came out of the tunnels and went inside the  _ Basilica Papale di San Pietro _ they noticed the change in temperature and how a pleasant heat re-colored their dying cheeks. 

They said goodbye to the Guide and Demonio took command again leading the group to begin the visit of that impressive place, immediately beginning to narrate in broad strokes the history of the Christian religion.

Only one of them realized that Hikaru, who could not take it anymore and had a strong urge to find a toilet, was separating from the group, and instead of warning and asking them to wait, he ran after him, worried about the teenager's health. 

“Where are Hikaru and Masaki?” Haruna asked suddenly realizing that the two teenagers were no longer with them.

The adults turned pale worried and after a moment of tension when they could not locate them through the mobile phones due to the lack of a signal, they separated to look for them, agreeing to meet in the same place later.

Kidou went to speak immediately with the security guards, Endou began to shout calling the boys making the guards almost throw him out of the  _ Basilica _ , Haruna moved with agility among the groups of tourists, Afuro searched inside the small chapels in case they had lagged behind seeing some of them, Genda peeked out in case they had left, Fudou moved worried about the exit area of the catacombs, Demonio moved towards the altar area and Sakuma remembering how Hikaru clutched his gut during the visit to the catacombs decided to approach the toilets.

He found Kariya waiting outside with a worried face, almost with tears in his eyes, yelling something into his mobile. Seeing the adult, the teenager's expression turned with relief and he could not help but go to hug him, surprising the young man who was ready to give them a good scolding.

“Why did you leave without warning? It was very imprudent.”

“Hikaru ran away because his stomach hurt! I've been trying to send you a message or make a call to tell you we were here all this time, but I don't have signal.”   
Kariya's voice was sharp and it could be told he was still scared. Sakuma's amber eye softened further and he sighed, looking at his own mobile and discovering that he was indeed still without signal in that area.

When Hikaru finally came out of the bathroom, he looked very bad, Sakuma touched his forehead and discovered that he had a slight fever.    
“Let's go back to the others, guys. They are very worried.”

And taking each one by the shoulder, he began to move towards the meeting point.

Almost all the adults were already there when they returned. Seeing them they felt a great relief, Kidou furrowed his eyebrows and moved with a severe face. But Endou grabbed his wrist and looked at him seriously.

“Don't scold them, Kidou. We both are the responsible ones for taking care of them, so if someone has to be scolded, it would be us.”

Kidou turned to Endou, surely with the intention of refuting that argument but he met Fudou's eyes that clearly reminded him of how he had separated himself from the group two days earlier. Fudou's turquoise eyes told him without a doubt that he was the least suitable to say anything in that circumstance. He looked down with a noise that sounded like acceptance.

“Hikaru, Masaki” Haruna who returned in those moments ran to hug them. “What happened?”

"Sorry," Hikaru sobbed, his eyes watering with tears. “I was not feeling very well ... but I did not want to bother and in the end I could not bear and …”

Hikaru's voice faltered and Haruna hugged him tighter.

“Masaki has tried to get in touch all this time but had no cell phone signal so there really is nothing to tell them except that they warn us next time.” Sakuma sighed and looked at the group. “Does anyone have something to lower the fever?”

"I only have painkillers," Haruna murmured, looking at her small bag and looking questioningly at Sakuma who explained that Hikaru seemed to be feverish.

Fudou sighed with his hands in his pockets.

“I'll go to a pharmacy to buy something for lowering the fever. I already saw the  _ Basilica  _ several times and I don’t feel sad for not seeing it again.”

“I can wait, you don't need to go now just because of me.”

The young brunette man turned to Hikaru and shrugged, brushing the hair off his head.

"I don't know if it's a good idea you go alone," Kidou murmured quietly.

“Calm down, it won't take long, I'll be back by the time you go to enter the Vatican Museums.”

The group split up to Kidou's chagrin who didn't find an excuse to avoid separation, while everyone stayed to continue with the visit Fudou went outside to look for the nearest pharmacy and buy a fever medicine.

“Fudou, wait.”

The boy turned on the descending stairs and saw that Genda was coming out after him, raising an eyebrow intrigued.

“What are you doing, Genda?”

“I want to talk to you, Fudou.”

Fudou's eyes narrowed, he shrugged and kept walking looking at the map that he should follow on his mobile.

“I hope that at least you warned that you were leaving.”

“Yeah right. I told them that I preferred to go with you and walked away before they could stop me.”

Genda hurried to stand beside him and Fudou's turquoise eyes turned to him for a moment and his expression of concentration.

“I was wondering who would be the first to realize, I really thought it would be Sakuma.”

Genda furrowed his brows for a moment without understanding what Fudou was talking about.

“Realize?”

Fudou looked back at him with a smirk and Genda was even more puzzled, his ears slightly red.

“How do you know what I want to talk to you about?”

"I have talent," Fudou laughed.

The other boy's eyebrows twitched slightly and he laughed out loud.

"I'm glad to have you as a friend and not as an enemy." Genda paused and asked in a much more serious voice. “So... is he?”

Fudou raised his head and looked at the sky a few seconds before answering very carefully.

“Maybe.”

“Fudou, I saw your face when you realized that Kidou was not with us the other day and I saw the faces that Kidou and you made when you realized that Hikaru and Masaki had disappeared a while ago.”

The long-haired young man advanced in silence for a few moments, suddenly stopped and grabbed Genda's arm in surprise.

"Genda ..." The boy bit his lip and looked down for a moment. “There is no evidence, there is nothing certain, only horrible coincidences. Relax and enjoy the journey.”

“Of course I'm going to enjoy the trip! But don't tell me to relax when you are in a state of permanent alert.”

Fudou snorted and shook his hair, his constant alertness didn’t stop the two teenagers from separating, he had relaxed in there. He couldn't afford it again.

“Do whatever you want.”

And he walked again, Genda followed him.

“You can trust me, Fudou.”

"Leave me alone," he growled.

“Why do you close like that? It is clear that you are worried about what Kageyama is up to.”

Fudou stopped again as if he had encountered an invisible wall and looked around.

“Don't name him.”

“What?”

"Don't name him, Genda ..." Fudou's eyes scanned the crowd of tourists walking from one side to the other.

Genda followed Fudou's look puzzled.

“Why? Is he Voldemort?” he stopped and then murmured “Do you think we are being followed?”

Fudou tilted his head for a moment, bit his lips again, and looked intently at Genda. His blue eyes sparkled with determination.

"I am also glad that we are friends," sighed Fudou, finally making a decision. Genda had always inspired him with a strong sense of security, and at those moments being able to count on his support was something that reassured him. “Listen carefully, Genda, promise me you won't say anything, absolutely none of this to any of the others.”

Genda wanted to ask why but after opening his mouth he realized that it was unnecessary. He fully understood the reason, Fudou wanted the others to avoid being scared and not enjoying those days of vacation, it was his way of protecting the group. Genda smiled, Fudou was a curious man, he cared a lot about others but never wanted to accept it, he preferred to be a protector in the shadows, anonymously make sure that everyone was okay. Even when nobody asked him, he did everything in his hands to help those he loved. As in those moments when he had decided to go find Hikaru's medicine without anyone else having to miss the visit to the Basilica.

“I promise.”

Fudou's eyes scanned the crowd again, he approached his friend and grabbed his shoulder as they walked again.

“What happened with Kidou was not an accident, Genda. I know it sounds implausible, I know I don't have any proof, but I know it wasn't an accident.”

Genda noticed his heart skip a beat and his guts contracted in agony.

“I believe you, Fudou.”

A sad smile appeared on his lips and he nodded.

“I hope everything shows that I'm wrong, but there is someone near us who is not our friend.”

“Do you think someone from the group ...?”

Fudou quickly shook his head.

“No, I don't suspect any of us, I trust everyone.”

A strong sigh of relief escaped Genda, Fudou looked at him with a mocking grimace that was short-lived because he continued speaking.

“I don't know if the Benefactor is him or someone who wants us to think it's him.”

That left Genda speechless, he had only directly suspected Kageyama, the idea that someone else might be involved was terrifying.

“What?”

"Even if the person who has invited us turns out to be indeed that old man," Fudou continued. “It may not be the only equation to consider on this trip.”

Genda nodded and they kept walking.

“Remember to keep your mouth shut, Genda. Especially with Kidou, he also believes it wasn’t an accident and he already has enough thinking that he has put us all in danger by not refusing to come.”

“Why does Kidou think that?”

“Because it surely is.”

Fudou's eyes flashed just as dangerous and Genda felt a chill run through his entire body.

They came to a pharmacy where they bought a medicine for Hikaru and started on the way back.

“If you think we are in danger, wouldn't it be better to suspend the trip and return to Japan?”

Fudou grimaced.

"The problem, Genda ..." Fudou lowered his voice. “Is that if someone really does not want us well I doubt that this will solve anything ... We may not even be his real objective but the Benefactor himself. We'll have to get to the core of all this and hope I'm just a paranoid crazy man.”

Genda wrinkled his nose and clapped Fudou on the back.

“I will be more attentive from now on, if we are careful we can enjoy the trip without anything to regret, right?”

“I hope so.”

Fudou smiled, noticing that the weight he was carrying became a little lighter as he shared it with his friend. He looked at Genda who did not seem worried after talking to him, he knew that Genda did not underestimate the gravity of what he had entrusted to him but was determined to trace a brilliant path with his own hands and make everyone enjoy the trip. Fudou had always greatly admired the boy's resolution and optimism, and in the following days, when things started to get really bad, he could not help but be glad that at that moment on the way to the pharmacy, he decided to tell him of his suspicions. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Only one chapter more with Rome and we move to Florence! And then Venice ;D Oh, Venice...


End file.
